As a woman of 37 years old who has worked in numerous male dominated fields, I mean it with every fiber of my being when I say I have NEVER experienced a work environment like the one here at HTC. I should have known that something was wrong from the moment during the interview when the owner of this “business” (Home Theatre Concepts in Morton, IL) decided it was appropriate to discuss other applicants with me, especially in regards to both their weight and appearance. Idiot me was desperate for a move out of the food industry, and I took the job against my own better judgement. In the 10 months I made it with this company, I experienced first-hand blatant and open sexism, homophobia, and racism. I heard him regularly refer to two lesbian customers as d slurs. I witnessed him refuse to work with customers because they were of a specific culture and would be “cheapskates”. On my third day, he told me I couldn’t use an image of a man vacuuming on the website I was building for him because “it’s a woman’s job” and he “won’t represent his male customers or his business that way”. Any time I disagreed I was told I was “just being emotional because I’m a woman and women are just emotional.” When my husband was in the hospital with a perforated colon, he took it upon himself to tell me my husband would be healthier if he lost weight. He regularly commented on what I was eating and how unhealthy it was, one time going so far as to put cookies on my desk and call them my “fat pills”. He constantly criticized my work despite my efforts, and used me and the lead installer as a scapegoat every time he himself messed up. He micromanages his employees to a degree with which I’ve never experienced before. He insists he knows how to run a business but didn’t invoice for over $100k + in services rendered last year. I know this because I created the invoices but he insisted on checking them before sending them. As of the time I walked out today, there were 106 open invoices starting from all the way back in Jan. 2022 to now that still have not been checked or sent. I was hired as the “manager” but was paid less than half of the salary my male subordinates were paid. I was told being sick was weak. I was told having COVID and calling in was weak. I was called an “irresponsible brat” for leaving the office suddenly to take my daughter to the hospital when the school called and told me something was wrong. I was told when I was hired that weekends were rare, but then after being hired told that Saturdays were “my shift” too. I ended up working 2-3 Saturdays a month the entire time I was there, and when I finally told them that per my contract I was taking weekends off this year to be with my family, I was ignored and then chastised for not being willing to go in. There are absolutely NO benefits offered, and you are expected to be there no LESS than 15min. EARLY daily, but you will not be compensated for being required to be there early because “that is your time to prepare yourself for the work day.” I strongly, strongly advise no one apply to or do business with this company.